Ron Paul, Rick Perry wage proxy war in Minnesota GOP Senate primary

The next battle of the Texas political titans is taking place in … Minnesota.

Texas congressman Ron Paul won the first battle of 2012 with Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He outpolled and outlasted Perry in the GOP presidential primary fight.

Now, the Texas Republicans with very different personalities (and followings) are waging proxy wars.

In the Texas Senate race, Perry has endorsed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Paul has endorsed former Solicitor General Ted Cruz.

Now, Perry has cut an ad for a contender in the wide-open GOP Senate nominating contest in Minnesota, Minnesota Army National Guard Capt. Pete Hegseth.

“He’s exactly the kind of patriot that we need,” says Perry, who calls the former fighter pilot someone who does what’s right “regardless of whether it’s popular or expedient.” He cites Hegseth’s experience in “takin’ on left-wing special interest groups like the ACLU, Code Pink and MoveOn.”

Paul, a libertarian lawmaker from Lake Jackson, is backing Minnesota state Rep. Kurt Bills. Another candidate, former state Rep. Dan Severson, has no Texas endorser (at least that we know of).

The nominee is to be chosen at the Republicans’ state convention, scheduled to begin Friday in St. Cloud. The winner will be a major-league underdog against incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar.